Paragraph Answer Questions (Section – A, Q.No. 5, Marks : 4)
Question 1.
Describe the role of the American naturalist in the short story, “The Dinner Party”.?
Answer:
Mona Gardner’s short story “The Dinner Party” offers us an interesting reading. It highlights women’s nerve control. The American naturalist is a special guest at the dinner party. All others are government officials or military personnel. Others are involved in a discussion. He alone stays silent and observes others keenly. He notices strange changes in the features on the face of the hostess. He watches a servant placing a bowl of milk in the veranda. He understands there is a snake. He thinks fast. He plans a strategy. It works out. He manages to make all the guests stay cool and calm till the snake creeps out. When the host appreciates his nerve control, he proves that it is the hostess who has real nerve control.
Question 2.
Describe the scene of the dinner party..?
Answer:
“The Dinner Party”, by Mona Gardner, is a gripping narration of an interesting incident. A colonial officer and his wife host a large dinner party. It is in their spacious dining hall. The hall has a bare marble floor. The rafters are open and glass doors are wide. Government, army and embassy officials with their wives are the guests.
A visiting American naturalist is the special invitee there. Twenty guests take part in that party. There is a spirited discussion about the nerve contral a woman has. A snake is there. The American naturalist takes control of the situation. He succeeds in making everyone stay calm till the snake crawls out.
Question 3.
“A spirited discussion springs up between a young girl and a colonel”. Discuss?
Answer:
“The Dinner Party”, by Mona Gardner, showcases the emotional strength of women. Deeds, not empty words, prove this point beyond anyone’s doubt. A colonial officer hosts the dinner party. The guests are just twenty. During the party, an animated discussion arises between a young girl and a colonel.
The girl says women have advanced a lot from their earlier era of screaming at the sight of a mouse. The colonel contradicts her stand. He asserts men have an extra ounce of nerve control in a crisis. And he adds that ounce counts a lot. But the girl is right. The story proves at the end how strong a woman is in crises!
The Dinner Party Summary in English
Mona Gardner is an American author. She had her story The Dinner Party published in The Saturday Review of Literature in 1941. Her story is a gripping narration with a stuning end. The story takes places in India during the British colonial time. In the story a colonel and a girl argue about how women act in a crisis.
In India, a colonial officer and his wife host a dinner party and invite army officers and government officials along with their wives and an American naturalist. A spirited discussion sparks up between a young girl and the colonel in which the girl believes that women have out grown the fright-from-seeing-a mouse era.
But the colonel denies that and says that men have more control than women in every situation. However, the hostess of the party proves him wrong there is a cobra in the room and the hostess stops it. The hostess decides to solve the problem and advises a plan to get rid of it. She gestures for a bowl of milk to the put outside the door.
An American naturalist at the party is watching the argument and observes the hostess. He understands that there is a cobra in the room, so to calm down everyone he plays a game of control where they cannot move or they would lose money. He told them that he would count three hundred that was five minutes and not one of them is to move a muscle.
Those who move will forfeit fifty rupees. When restarts counting down the last twenty seconds to finish the game. The cobra emerges from under the table and goes towards the bowl of milk outside. He locks it out of the room. The colonel appreciates the American who has just shown them an example of perfect control.
The American asks the hostess, Mrs. Wynnes, how she knew that the cobra was in the room and she replies; “Because it was crawling across her foot.” The colonel is proved wrong by Mrs. Wynnes’s action. The American naturalist was used to show gender does not support your self control.
The writer uses Mrs. Wynnes to prover her them that gender doesn’t support your self control. Throughout the story, Mrs. Wynnes displays perfect self control, proving that women can act bravely in a crisis. Ever though a snake crawled over her foot, she still kept calm. Thus, it justifies that gender does not support.
Meanings and Explanations
colonial (n/adj) /kələʊniǝl/ (కలఉనిఅల్) (polysyllabic-4 syllables) = pertaining to a colony : పాలిత దేశానికి సంబంధించిన, औपनिवेशक
attaches (n-pl) /ǝtætseiz/ (అత్యచెఇజ్) (trisyllabic) = persons who work in embassies : రాయబార కార్యాలయంలో పనిచేయు అధికారులు, अधिकारी, अफसर
naturalist (n) /nætsurəlist/(న్యాచురలిస్ట్) (polysyllabic-4) = biologist : జీవశాస్త్రవేత్త, जीव विज्ञानी
spacious (adj) /sperfǝs/ (స్పెఇషస్) (disyllabic) = vast; huge, big : విశాల, विस्तृत
bare (adj) /beǝ(r)/ (బెఅ(ర్)) (monosyllabic) = uncovered; minimal : ఆచ్ఛాదన లేని; కనీస అవసరాల స్థాయిలో ఉన్న, अभाव में
rafters (n-pl) /ra:ftǝ(r)z/ (రాఫ్ ట(ర్)జ్) (disyllabic) = wooden, sloped beams that support the roof : వాసాలు; కప్పును నిలిపి ఉంచే దూలాలు
spirited (adj) /spiritid/ (స్ప్రిరిటిడ్) (trisyllabic) = enthusiastic : ఉత్సాహభరిత , उत्साही
spring up (phrase) = start with a bang : ఆడంబరంగా ప్రారంభమవు
outgrow (v) /outgrǝʊ/ (ఔట్ గ్రఉ) (disyllabic) = grow beyond: దాటి పెరుగు
jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse = 10 పదాలకు హైషన్ లతో బంధించి ఒక్క adjective గా సృష్టించి ఉపయోగించిన రచయిత్రి సృజనాత్మకత; ఎలుకను చూడగానే కుర్చీ మీదికి గెంతే
era (n) /ǝrǝ/ (ఇఅర) (disyllabic) = a particular period of time: కాలము ; యుగము
colonel (n) /kз:nǝl/ (కనల్) (disyllabic) = an army officer : ఒక సైనికాధికారి
scream (v) /skri:m/ (స్క్రీమ్) (monosyllabic) = cry out in a shrill voice : కీచుగొంతుకతో అరచు; ఆకస్మికంగా గావుకేకపెట్టు
bait (n) /beit/ (బెఇట్) (monosyllabic) = anything that allures : ఆకర్షించునది; ఎర, प्रलोभन
course (n) /ko: (r)s/ (కో(ర్)స్) (monosyllabic) = a stage of a meal : భోజన వడ్డనలో ఒక దశ; ఒక భాగము, पाठयम
impulse (n) /impals/ (ఇమ్ పల్ స్) (disyllabic) = sudden feeling, desire: ఆకస్మిక అనుభూతి; కోరిక, अतः प्रेरणा
commotion (n) /kǝmeusən/ (కమఉషన్) (trisyllabic) = disturbance; noise: అలజడి ; ఆందోళన ; శబ్దము, शोर
arresting (v + ing : adj) /ǝrestin/ (అరెస్ టింగ్) (trisyllabic) = captivating: ఆకట్టుకునేలా ఉన్న
sober (v) /sǝubə(r)/ (సఉబ(ర్) ) (disyllabic) = moderate one’s feelings : భావోద్వేగములను శాంతపరచు; తగ్గించు, अमत
forfeit (v) /fo:(r)frt/ (ఫో(ర్)పిట్) (disyllabic) = lose as fine : జరిమానాగా కోల్పోవు
emerge (v) /im3:(r)dy/ (ఇమ(ర్)జ్) (disyllabic) = come out : బయటకు వచ్చు
make for (phrase) = move towards : వైపుగా వెళ్ళు
ring out (phrase) = echo : ప్రతిధ్వనించు, घंटी बजाना
slam (v) /slæm/ (స్లామ్) (monosyllabic) = shut suddenly with force and noise : ఆకస్మికంగా, పెద్ద శబ్దం వచ్చేలా ధడేల్మని మూయు, धाम
faint (adj) /fernt/ (ఫెఇన్) (monosyllabic) = weak : బలహీన; నీరస, मूर्छत होना
crawl (adj) /kral/ (క్రొల్) (monosyllabic) = creep : ప్రాకు, रेंगना